


Waiting Up

by stupefied



Category: Emmerdale, robron
Genre: Fluff and Angst, M/M, Past Abuse, Triggers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-28
Updated: 2016-07-28
Packaged: 2018-07-27 08:07:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7610272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stupefied/pseuds/stupefied
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“You won’t turn me into some weirdo staying up all night and wondering where you’d got to,” Aaron had said, once, during a fight, but here he is, doing exactly that, and Robert always feels a twinge of guilt, every time he comes home to find Aaron waiting.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Waiting Up

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little fluff. This is the first time I write from Robert's POV. Hope you like.

Every time Robert comes home late, from a meeting or a trip, he finds Aaron on the sofa, in the backroom of the Woolpack. Most times leaning back with a foot or two on the coffee table, less often lying lengthwise, sometimes asleep and sometimes not, magazine or cell phone on his chest, reading or watching some video online.

“You won’t turn me into some weirdo staying up all night and wondering where you’d got to,” Aaron had said, once, during a fight, but here he is, doing exactly that, and Robert always feels a twinge of guilt, every time he comes home to find Aaron waiting. 

Robert always greets Aaron with two kisses, asleep or awake, first on the forehead or nose or a cheek or even an eye, second always on the lips, dry and no tongue but always lingering. Aaron grabs him by the collar or by the neck, most times he smiles, sometimes not – sleep foggy or awake – blue eyes drawing him into its depths, and only then Robert starts feeling like he is finally home.

Aaron always asks about his late meeting, or his trip, and Robert, knowing full well that he’s got the form for it, wonders if it’s Aaron’s way of challenging his fidelity. I will never, Robert wants to say, but he doesn’t – he’s told Aaron that enough times, in many different ways, and each time Aaron’s answered ‘I know’ or ‘I trust you’ – and still Robert tells him about the messed up schedules or inconsiderate clients or slow traffic, and even though Aaron only pays attention for the first couple of minutes he still describes all the details, because somehow Robert thinks that Aaron’s declaration of trust has an expiration date, and he needs to keep renewing it, again and again. 

“You don’t have to. You know,” Robert says, “wait up.”

“I wasn’t.” Aaron answers. “Just couldn’t sleep.”

They go upstairs, to Aaron’s room – now Robert’s as well – and sometimes they talk further, more often have sex, and then settle down, entangled for the rest of the night. Robert wonders if Aaron couldn’t sleep without him, and that makes him worry, but also makes him feel so needed and loved, makes him try every day to get home as early as he could. But work always gets in the way.

A couple of times Robert has to stay overnight in Manchester or Leeds, and both times he wakes up real early for the drive home, beating the morning rush hour, getting back to the village just around sunrise. Those times, he finds Aaron just awoken or just about to, having slept upstairs in their bed.

Robert ponders the puzzle, as he works, earning him irritated reminders to pay attention from Nicola. He decides to just ask Aaron, and he does, tangentially once and a second time more directly, and from the way Aaron says ‘it’s no big deal’ or ‘nothing to be bothered about’, Robert can tell there’s something more, but also that he shouldn’t push. And it does bother him, and he worries, because he agrees with Aaron. Something as simple as waiting up for him shouldn’t be a big deal, but somehow it is.

Robert is booked for another overnight in Manchester, but he finds he couldn’t sleep himself, and so at 11 pm he checks out of the hotel to make the late night drive back to the village. He gets home about 2 hours later, and walks in the backroom half-expecting Aaron on the sofa, but he is not there. Robert walks upstairs, to their bedroom, tries to be quiet, finds Aaron asleep, face down. He starts his usual routine, with a kiss to the ear, and all of a sudden Aaron whips up in panic, kicks him in the stomach, sends him sprawling against the dresser, yelling in alarm.

“Aaron, it’s me.” Robert says, trying to keep his voice calm, even as he endures the sharp pain on his right side, from where the dresser corner hit his back.

Aaron retreats in the dark, across the room, back flat against the wall, squeezed in between the bed and the side table.

“Turn on the light,” Robert says, fighting tears, kicking himself for not realizing this. He should have guessed. He should have.

Aaron flicks on the switch and they both jump - not at the sudden illumination but at the simultaneous banging on the bedroom door, Chas on the other side, asking what’s wrong. Robert opens the door, keeping an eye on Aaron, and between them they manage to talk her down, even though she was being stubborn as usual.

“It’s alright, Mum,” Aaron says in his irritated voice, but Robert could still hear the shaking in it.

“I stumbled,” Robert says, putting on what he thinks is a self-deprecating grin, and after a while Chas relents, still suspicious, eyes asking him ‘what have you done this time’ and Robert begs her with a look to just go and let him sort it out.

“I wish you told me,” Robert says, later, as Aaron examines the painful bruise on his back.

“I’m sorry, I should have,” Aaron says, and Robert hears the tears in his voice and he turns around and pulls Aaron in and wraps arms around him, tight. Aaron stiffens for a second, and Robert counts it as a huge victory when Aaron doesn't try to pull away.

On the rarer times when it’s Aaron’s turn to come home late, Robert doesn’t wait for him downstairs. The sofa is hard and lumpy, and he prefers the comfort of their bed. Robert loves it when Aaron finally slides in behind him, wraps around his sleepy body, with a kiss to the neck, cold hand snaking in under his shirt, thigh slipping in between his. He loves it when Aaron wakes him from sleep with a wet mouth, on the lips or on the neck, or especially down there. Robert has always wanted to come home to Aaron waiting for him in bed, so he can to do the same for Aaron, but now he knows it won’t happen, and he hates the man who did this to them, hates the man who robbed them the pleasure of a simple surprise.

“There are some memories that you can physically remember,” Aaron said to Robert, once, and Robert wishes with all of his might that Aaron would forget.

Robert buys a more comfortable sofa, and Aaron appraises it with a raised eyebrow. His eyes are sad, and Robert waits for him to say something, but Aaron stays silent.

Robert’s heart skips when he comes home late and Aaron isn’t downstairs. Aaron is waiting up, lying awake on the bed, bedroom lights bright. Robert comes in quiet, takes his clothes off, gets under the duvet by Aaron’s side, burrows his head under Aaron’s neck. He traces his fingers on Aaron’s scars, and after a while Aaron grasps his hand still. Robert looks up, and he gets a glimpse of Aaron’s deep blue as he descends on him.

Someday, Robert promises silently, as Aaron's mouth claims his. I’ll properly show how it feels to come home to you.


End file.
